Investigating a slight water leak around my Hotpoint WMA31 washing machine today, I found there was a rust coloured patch of thick sludge underneath it.
There is a recessed rail under the motor and the waste water pump, and that too is covered in a dry layer of the same rust coloured powder (there is a hole in it so presumably the water has drained onto the floor) + there are rust coloured dried splashes around the base of the drum and the various hoses at the bottom of the machine.
When the drum is spun, there is a rather disturbing clicking noise coming from the back of it. I'm thinking perhaps a bearing/rear seal of the drum has failed allowing water to leak past and be splashed about by the wheel on the back. However, I am at a loss to explain all this fine rust coloured powder.
Any ideas?
If it is a bearing failure, is it easy and cost effective to sort out? It looks as though the drum will need to come out of the front as the only back panel is a small one at the bottom to get to motor and pump.
Hmmmmmm doesn't look good. There is a line of rust coloured powder all the way down the back of the drum from the bearing :o(
I've found a supplier who can provide me with the rear half of the drum c/w bearing for about £70. Can't find anyone selling the bearing itself though. Can anyone confirm this is normal?
I think I've worked out how to get the drum out the top of the machine now too.
My only remaining question is what type of bearing is it - and could its wear/collapse have damaged the inner drum spindle (that looks like another £70 for the inner drum so it's getting to the point I'd scrap the machine).
I Googled for Hotpoint WMA31 bearing kit and got quite a few results, such as:
Costs about £22 with delivery. Replacing a washing machine bearing is a major job in my opinion, and there may be other problems that need sorting out. You could spend £22 on a bearing kit in the hope that you can do it and that is all that needs doing, or ask a local repair technician for an estimate of the likely cost of parts only and parts with professional repair. I am assuming that this machine is between 5 and 10 years old, in which case it is probably worth up to £50 if in full working order. In that case I would regard a repair cost of more than £50 as an uneconomical repair because if you spent £50, then sold it, you would only just cover your costs. I have thrown good money after bad in the past and it isn't a good feeling. Obviously, if you can diy for £22 it would be worth it.
Unfortunately, the economics are a bit more complicated Cosmo, as the machine (and our fridge and our dishwasher) are Hotpoint's Almond colour rather than white. I won't make THAT mistake again!
So all I want to do is tide it over for another year or two until I refit the kitchen (and put in WHITE appliances!).
Thanks for the advice and the link - I'll check it out.
The reason I am asking is that if the machine is under 5 years old, Hotpoint will renew whatever parts are needed at that visit for a total of £89 (parts and labour) - just say no firmly when the engineer starts his sales spiel to get you to subscribe to a yearly maintenance contract!
We have just had the drum replace on a four and a half year old WMA33 as the bearings were clapped out, along with a door seal (they also did the same for my fathers WMA31 when changed about half a dozen different - and expensive parts [not the drum]).
Not D-I-Y I know, but if all else fails, it may be worth giving them a ring.
[I don't know your model in particular, but following comments are relevant to several Hotpoint models.]
Drum bearing seal has failed, allowing water through to the bearing side of the seal. There's a small drain hole under the bearing to allow any such water to get out, but eventually it will block. Then the water will come through the bearing, with the detergent washing the oil out, and it rapidly corrodes and fails. If you are going to continue using the machine before fixing this, make sure the small drain hole is clear, as that may prevent the bearing being destroyed until you can replace the seal (if it hasn't been already).
Check the bearing first. Rotate the drum slowly by hand, and if there's a lot of rumbling, chances are you've got corroded balls already. ;-) Hold the top and bottom front edges of the drum, and see if it will move up and down relative to the outer drum. If there is significant movement, then the bearing is worn out anyway. In case of wear or corrosion, it needs replacing.
New drum bearings for most Hotpoints are around £5, which is both of the bearings and the bearing seal, from
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have to phone them though as very little of their white goods spares are actually in their catalogue or on the website. They will look up the machine model, and tell you what part you need. (I don't think you can buy the bearing seal by itself, but you probably do want to avoid replacing the bearings unless necessary as the old ones are not easy to get out.) Also buy a new drum [front] seal, as it doesn't cost much (although probably more than £5) and the old one is unlikely to reseal once disassembled and reassembled. If you want to bump the order up to the minimum value to avoid postage changes, you might add on a set of motor brushes to keep as spares.
You don't need a whole drum.
In really bad cases, the bearings can corrode onto the drum spindle such that they won't come off and a new drum spindle is required. That's around the £25 mark for many Hotpoints (it includes the large inner mountings for the inner drum, and can include the full bearing kit in some cases).
Thanks for the advice Andrew - I've stripped the machine down this morning and the bearings were clicking and rumbling but with suprisingly little play in them - a bit like car wheel bearings when they start to go. Right old rusty mess too as you predicted.
Bearings are proving a right b*gger to drift out and I'm beggining to wonder if I should have got the back half of the drum c/w bearings after all!
Make sure that the bearings stay perfectly square in their guide as they are withdrawn. If you get them at an angle, they will jam, and the guide may break (which is part of the outer drum).
Well thats it back together again now. The bearing was absolutely seized, and not even an improvised bearing puller would budge it. Had to replace back half of drum which comes with bearings and take the bearings back for refund.
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